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Saturday, February 27, 2010

Lilly threw up again this morning. I thought is was getting better. Yesterday we only had one poopy diaper (as apposed to the 12 I changed on Thursday), and she actually ate. Then this morning when we were leaving after cleaning the church she upchucked french toast all over the place. Yeah for bleach water, laundry and hand sanitizer.Poor thing.Luckily no one else is getting it, and she's doing a good job of taking fluids.Now what to do tomorrow, Cori is supposed to sing and I'm supposed to speak in church.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Does your bathroom look like mine? One of those generic white showers.. Want to jazz it up? All you need are a couple of kids and some home made finger paint.1/2 cup cornstarch 3 Tbsp. sugar 1/2 tsp. salt 2 cups cold water food coloring2 Tbsp. dish soap optional for using in the shower

In a medium pan, mix all the ingredients together to make the finger paint. Cook over low heat 10 to 15 minutes. Keep stirring the finger paint mixture until it is smooth and thick. After the finger paint has thickened take the pan off the stove and let the mixture cool.

After cooling, divide the finger paint into storage containers depending on how many colors you would like. Add a few drops of food coloring to each container. Stir the coloring in to the paint to determine the shade of color. You're ready to finger paint! Cover tightly when storing.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Today I told Havah that we would have Rice Crispy Treats for desert tonight.

I gave her my word of honor.I keep marshmallows in my house.I love them snappy.I buy a bag, open it and then let it sit in the pantry for a few weeks before I snitch one.Yum.Apparently I take for granted that marshmallows live in our home,because tonight they were gone.But I promised!So at 15 minutes to bed time (aka 6:45)We climbed int he Twinkie Bus and headed to Paul's, Kuna's local grocery store.

(Yes I took these pictures while driving at night, please don't tell the Police)No we did not eat this whole bowl.Sugar shock!Lilly refused to indulge with us.She's more sensible when it comes to treats.Handful of frozen 'boories' (blue berries) made her night.

Sunday, February 21, 2010

It was brought to my attention that there are some people in this world who have missed an important part of their education.

Please allow me to educate.Quickly.

When you eat this for breakfast it is called what?Cold CerealYes, you are correct.When you eat this for dinner, what is it called?um... cold cereal?No, when you eat this for dinner it is not Cold Cereal. It is bad for a mother's mental health to feed her children cold cereal for dinner.The correct answer is Magic Soup.See, doesn't it just sound like you put some effort into it?

Thank you for your participation.Tonight we had Eggs and WF Magic Rainbow Marshmallow soup.Eggs, good idea.This particular idea for magic soup... bad idea.Can you say headache?No desert for us tonight.

Friday, February 19, 2010

There isn't anywhere beautiful to go in Kuna to exercise. It's fields and subdivisions.I know, weird combination. So if you exercise because you know you should (like me) not because it is your passion... Kuna isn't exactly a helpful place to live.

Enter Our New Favorite Place.

THE GYM!or Health Club, as our Daddy like to refer to it.Tuesday Cori signed us up, (after a very long, very needed, very therapeutic discussion Monday night), in a continued effort to help me get my head on straight.We have spend an hour there every day since Tuesday.

Which is why you haven't heard from me for the last 4 days because I have been having a FABULOUS TIME! (I went 10 miles yesterday)

An hour a day, and the girls can come with me because of this cool place.

if you look in the back the reflection shows their awesome indoor boat play ground.I still have a long way to go, but after just four days things are changing.

Suddenly, finding time to focus on spiritual things isn't so hard. Cleaning my house isn't so hard. Getting organized for scouts isn't so hard. Making dinner isn't so hard. Running errands isn't so hard. Going to bed on time isn't so hard.

There is something to be said for vigorous exercise and living a happy life.

Best gift I think I have been given my entire married life.Thanks Cori.

Monday, February 15, 2010

DO NOT COOK THIS IN YOUR HOUSE!Cori knows I love fish.I miss fish.Generally, I believe Idaho (aka 'The Middle') is not the place to buy fish.But sometimes you just have to have an oceanic meal.Even if you live in the middle.So for V-day Cori bought a Halibut steak and some Red Snapper fillets.We decided to cook the snapper and save the Halibut for later this week.Before we cook anything fishy we always call Pappy and Yaya for their opinion.Pappy is the family fish expert.

He told us that if it's fish he likes it.Yaya said something to the effect of 'Snapper stinks like fish.'To be honest, I thought "No duh, it is fish, that was the idea."I should have known better. Yaya is not a fish hater.

We made cous-cous, sauteed zucchini and blackend snapper.It was DELICOUS.Then we left to set up for the desert social Cori was in charge of at the church.SO FUN!But about half way through I started to smell like fish.Not like a delicious fish smell... like a fishy smell.Cori did too.When we got home at 8:30 and walked into the kitchen it hit us.The smell.

Saturday, February 13, 2010

We went here... and at this... well the two person version.oh my gosh, it's served on a garbage can lid... get the appetizer version, it will be enough.We at BBQ for a snack and lunch today... and I think there is still some in the fridge.Then we went to

browsed and wrote down tons of books we want to find at the library.I am going back to buy a copy of "The Prince", the quintessential political guide belongs in any home that wishes to be politically aware and educated at all (in my opinion).I also found a bunch of presidential biographies and history books to put on my list.We're kind of in a looking to our history to recognize the intentions of our fore fathers at the during the colonization and formation of our country.(Some day I'll have Cori write a post about that, he's better at explaining it than I am. Maybe we'll start another blog... when he's done with school... look for it in 3 or 4 years).

Then we went and picked up this girl:(not as part of our date)I love her. Lilly is standing next to me crying "Yissa, ya ooo?" now...(translation "Lissa where are you?")and had a lovely time talking with her.

Then we went to bed at Midnight.And woke up at 5:30.That hurts.And we went here,Lovely... poor Cori ended up not being able to come in though,and graciously said he would wait, but we forgot I had the keys, so he had to sit for two and a half hours in a freezing car, without a coat. Luckily there was a blanket.What a good guy.(and thanks to Lissa for feeding the girls breakfast)Then we transplanted these,so that hopefully (cross your fingers!)we'll be eating these, this summer.Then the girls and I did something VERY SPECIAL...which I will blog about after I have pictures to accompany, because words cannot do our very special tradition justice...So watch for that.Now I'm babysitting and Cori is finalizing the formatting on a Russian translation (no he doesn't speak Russian)

Thursday, February 11, 2010

I was in the living room, then the scream,"MOM! SHE'S STEALING MY GREATFAST!"Apparently Lilly had finished her breakfast and decided Havah's looked delicious.This is her crying about being caught.I just missed the picture of them wrestling over a mini wheat.Awe, sisters. Can you feel the love?

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Monday and Tuesday this week I had some kind of mental something going on.

Sad, crying, self pity....The whole bit.This is out of character.

My mother taught me when I was a teenager that emotions are tools.Given to us to enhance our earthly experience, and that we can choose how we use them.(note- not if we have them, but how use them).She also taught me that if you very suddenly start feeling something that you do not normally feel, there is a reason. And you should logic through until you figure out where it's coming from.

Monday took me off guard.Tuesday I started to logic.This morning I figured it out.

In the last three weeks I have lost eight pounds.(Yes, I am happy about that, we're working back to Kari vintage '05, or something close)But this is what I realized. Since mom died, a lot of people have needed a lot of things from me. And I needed something I could give myself. Because either there wasn't time for personal time, or there was guilt for taking time for personal time.I have spent two nights away from Havah ever, and I was pregnant with Lilly.I can count the number of dates Cori and I have gone on in the last three years on both my handsSo food was my thing. It was the thing that I could give myself and not have to feel bad, because it's not an extravagance. Everyone needs to eat. Right?

(Taken December '09)I could make three dozen chocolate chip cookies, eat one dozen myself and there were still enough for everyone else, and they didn't need to know I had given myself a treat.We could go out to pizza with Havah and no one needed to know why we didn't eat a lot of dinner that night, and I hadn't made them take care of my child.No guilt.

Recently things have moved away from me. I'm not in charge of 10 people's laundry and meals.I don't even take the kids to counseling anymore.My big contributions are having Tasha over to play every day and fixing dinner for everyone on Wednesday nights.Suddenly there's time to think about myself, about changing and being better.First on the list: Good bye 40 lbs!(That is Tasha... I have been carrying around a 5 year old's body weight for 2 years).

Finally I start to see some results and all of a sudden I'm a mess.Because, and here is the point, you have to have something.Something that fills you up.Something more than family.Something more than (sinner me) church.It's not enough.People need to have something they love that is all their own.Food was mine, and it was literally filling me up.Then I took it a way, and didn't replace it with something else,and I felt like my heart was breaking.

So here's to something new:Dating & a garden.Time away out of our house, away from our sweet children, to talk like grown ups andtime outside helping things to grow.(so that I can eat them hehehe)

Sunday, February 7, 2010

This is Havah's new pinewood bunk bed.Big Thank You to Grandpa and Uncle Steve for helping Cori build it.

Havah thinks it's awesome.Mom thinks it's beautiful and makes the girls room smell like a rodents (clean) cage.Dad thinks it is too tall.This is Havah learning how to clean out a mixing bowl.She's a fast learner....This is Lilly.She thinks she can do whatever Havah can.She thinks she can do whatever Havah can,just more thoroughly.The cake was adequate...The cooking was delightfully hilarious.

Laundry is a noun that refers to the act of washing clothing and linens, the place where that washing is done, and/or that which needs to be, is being, or has been laundered.Thank you Wikipedia.How do you do laundry?Do you have a system?A pre-scheduled day of suffering each week? Do you like it? (shudder)Do you make your kids do it?Do you just give everything away once a month and buy all new clothes?After you wash it do you fold it right there?Do you put it on your table?Your bed?Leave it in the baskets and let people fish for what they need?How do you fold your laundry with you children awake?How do you put the clothes away when your children are asleep?

Laundry is my nemesis... I'd rather clean toilets every day, all day.Unfortunately, laundry isn't one of those things you can fudge.It's done or it's not.

So- how do you do it?And how do I keep from growing a small mountain on my bedroom floor in my effort to avoid it?

(I told you, moving things from the not good at to the good at pile this year)